So
you wanna take the big leap? - Sabeshan
Srinivasan (iamsabeshan@gmail.com)

A
successful entry into a U.S. based M.S. needs a lot of meticulous planning in
advance. This information is primarily meant for engineering graduates. If you
have decided to do an M.S. after your B.E., you should start preparing right
from the second year. A typical schedule would look like this:

Depending
on which stage you are currently in, you may choose to go to the pre-apping,
post-apping or post-visa sections or
if you are just starting out to explore the world of apping, just read through
the entire stuff! You are in for a big lecture!

The
way to continuing your higher studies in the U.S. can be a long-drawn and
exasperating affair. It takes a lot of patience and meticulous planning to
establish yourself where you wish to be. Before you jump headlong into this
document, let me introduce you to some of the unfamiliar terms you will often
come across in peer circles, official correspondence, websites etc.

Term

Meaning

Apping

Short
form for 'applying'. Refers to applying to universities

School

May
variably refer to department, office or college

Standardised
tests

Refers
to tests like GRE, TOEFL etc.

CGPA
(Cumulative Grade Point Average) - up to the current semester

A
grading system analogous to the percentage system adopted in Indian
universities. The maximum is 4.00 in most U.S. universities (similar to
100% in our universities)

Major

Denotes
the area of specialisation you intend to pursue

Admit

An offer
of admission from a university

Undergraduate
degree

Bachelor's
degree

Graduate
degree

Master's
degree or PhD

U.S.
universities work different from their Indian counterparts. When you make an
application to an university, you must send the original application to the
Graduate School (the American equivalent of the university administrative
office) along with requisite application material and a copy of the same to your
department along with the application material that have been asked of you by
the department. A few weeks after you receive an admit (usually you will first
be intimated by e-mail and then by an official letter; you may or may not be
intimated of grant of aid in this letter), you will receive a form called
I-20 (this is the document which signifies the official statement of your
admission to the visa authorities) which you must fill in during the time of
visa application. Keep this document safely and produce it when you appear for
the visa interview.

It
takes quite some time for preparing well for the GRE. Usually, six months' time
is enough for most people (in case you wish to prepare systematically and
gradually) but you should allocate at least 45 days as a minimum for the GRE.
The GRE has three sections:

Quantitative
(the easiest of 'em all, this should be a real pushover for any engineering
student. Has MCQs on various topics like algebra, arithmetic etc.)

Analytical
(starting Oct. 2002, this section has two questions which must be answered. The
answers must be in essay form)

Each
section takes at least 15 days preparation which is why 45 days in the minimum
for GRE as a whole. Of course, all this is assuming you have the requisite
skills - vocabulary, logic, essay-writing, mathematical etc. The duration
mentioned is only for practice and not for learning these skills!

Quite
a lot of books are available for the GRE. Not all books are up to the mark, so
you should choose the right book for preparation. Further, you should also
practice mock GRE computer tests which would give you a fair idea of where you
stand. You may follow these books for preparing for the GRE:

Barron's
guide to the GRE (the bible for GRE aspirants)

Peterson's
guide to the GRE

Kaplan's
testprep for the GRE

Arco's
study guide (though not a very good book, contains a lot of practice tests)

Word
Power by Norman Lewis (useful for etymological guesswork)

Rosenberg's
book on vocabulary (I don't exactly remember what the title was)

The
GRE Big book (there is actually no such book but its the informal name given to
a compilation of GRE question papers over a period of some 20 years. Very good
for practice. In Chennai, it is available in the xerox shop near Mandakini (?)
hostel)

There
are many more books but these books would by themselves take quite some time to
finish. So, I guess this would be enough. However, if you have an appetite for
more such testprep books, visit the nearest bookshop!

As
far as the TOEFL is concerned, a week's preparation would be enough for most
people. At most two weeks would be enough for just about anybody. The TOEFL is
composed of the following sections:

Listening
(dialogues spoken by voices in an American accent will be heard and questions
will be asked after the end of the speech)

Reading
(passages will be displayed based on which questions will be asked; easier than
the corresponding questions in the GRE)

Structure/Writing
(the structure part contains questions on identifying grammatical mistakes in
sentences; the writing part consists of writing a 250-word essay on a given
topic)

You
need not worry much for the TOEFL. A week's gap after the GRE would be enough.
No books are needed for preparing for TOEFL but it would certainly help
preparing using the PowerPrep for TOEFL (unlike the GRE, this software is NOT
given free by the ETS).

Most
universities in the U.S. require that prospective students take GRE and/or TOEFL
for admission. Most universities have a certain cutoff for TOEFL. Often it is
pegged at 213 or so. As far as GRE is concerned, your department decides what
the minimum allowable score is.

Booking
dates for GRE/TOEFL is fairly simple. You can book online at http://www.gre.org/
and http://www.toefl.org/ or by phone.
However, you must call Prometric services (the authorised agents of ETS - the
agency that conducts GRE and TOEFL exams) at New Delhi for booking your dates.
For both of these methods you must possess a credit card (Visa/MasterCard).
There is also an alternative method, you may book your GRE/TOEFL by snail mail
(i.e. by normal post). Information regarding this can be found at the nearest
USEFI centre. For the uninitiated, USEFI stands for the United States
Educational Foundation in India. These centres are usually located in the
nearest U.S. Consulate or embassy (if in N.Delhi). You can choose the centre for
testing (closest to where you live).

The
GRE (as also the TOEFL) is a computerised test which must be delivered at an ETS
authorised centre. Usually this goes by the name Thomson Prometric/Sylvan. In
Chennai, this is located in Jagannathan Road (opp. Hotel Ganpat) in the STAR
Vijay building complex. The TOEFL test shows the results (except for the essay
section) immediately after completion of the test. The same applies for the GRE
too. With effect from October 1, 2002, the GRE includes a compulsory essay
(analytical) section and hence (unlike the earlier edition of GRE) the complete
results are not displayed. The official scores (for both GRE and TOEFL) are sent
to you around two-three weeks after the test. During the test (both GRE and
TOEFL) you have the option of reporting the test scores to a maximum of four
universities. Therefore, you should have decided the universities you wish
joining as this can save quite a sum. Remember, it takes $25 to report both GRE
and TOEFL scores to a single university (not including the $6 if you are
reporting by phone). For four universities, this comes to $100!

After
taking your GRE and TOEFL, you should decide to which universities you send the
test scores (other than the four you might have sent scores to during the test).
You may report the scores by post or by phone. In case you wish to report by
post, you can download the ASR (Additional Score Report) form from the GRE/TOEFL
website. Alternatively you can make use of the form provided with the official
score report packet. Each university costs you $25 for a GRE and TOEFL report.
In case you wish to report using phone, you must pay an additional $6 per phone
session (during each session, you may report scores for a maximum of four
universities).

Before
you finish the third year of your B.E., you should have decided the area(s) of
interest and the universities you intend applying to. Choosing the area of
interest is not much difficult as by the end of the second year you should have
a fair idea of where your interest lies. For example, if you are a
geoinformatics engineering student, you might be interested in remote sensing.
In such a case, you might consider applying to universities which excel in this
particular field. After deciding your field of interest, you should pin down the
universities you wish applying to. I have formulated a scheme for choosing
universities:

2/7
th of the universities should be highly-ranked (dream schools or
those belonging to the so called Ivy League) and should fall within the 1-20
ranking range.

2/7
th of the universities should fall in the 21-50 range (these are
called the safe schools because you know you stand a fair chance of getting into
such schools)

3/7
th of the universities can be low-ranked schools (i.e. beyond rank
50)

While
this is the general scheme for choosing universities, the rank ranges may change
depending on each individual's capabilities. Rankings for U.S. universities can
be found at http://www.usnews.com/
(nowadays it is a paid site; you won't get rankings for more than 10 schools.
However, if you can find a way to get to the full rankings, it would help you
decide better). Another source is the annual NRC (National Research Council)
rankings. You can do a search in http://www.google.com/
for the current NRC rankings. Using both ranklists, you can get a clear idea of
which university you should choose.

One
word of caution: do not choose universities primarily based on the costs
involved. Remember that even the cheapest U.S. universities charge fees in
excess of $15,000 (more than Rs. 7,50,000) PER year and so there is no logic in
omitting universities on the basis of fees. Another fact that you should
understand is that the cheapest is no necessarily the best!

Once
you have finalised the universities you wish to join, you must start applying.
Most universities have stopped issuing application packages after the advent of
the Internet. However, you may try asking the university to send you a package.
Almost all universities have downloadable application files (as pdf files) which
can be printed and filled in. This is certainly preferable as it cuts down the
time needed to receive the application package.

Applying
involves sending documents (in addition to your filled-up application) which you
need to prepare. These documents need some time for preparation and therefore,
you should not sit down at the time of application for these documents. They are
as follows:

Statement
of Purpose (SoP)

This
is a brief statement of your degree goals, why you have chosen such and such
university and why you wish to take up such and such field of study. Many
universities may require more information to be provided. Usually this is a one
or two-page essay which is to be provided with the application. SoP is a very
important factor in deciding your admission to the university and grant of
financial aid. So, make sure you prepare your SoP well ahead of time so that you
have enough time to get it revised, corrected and edited many times. Writing an
SoP is not like writing just another essay. It requires lot of patience, time,
and focus to write a successful SoP. You can download my SoPs from here
(I have only included my successful SoPs ;-)). At the end of the page you can
find links to some guides on writing SoPs.

This
arguably is one of the biggest worries of applicants to U.S. universities.
"How do I show enough funds for the fees indicated?" is a question
that would dog every prospective apper. Most U.S. universities charge at least
Rs.7,50,000 per year as fees. For a two-year course, it would be necessary to
document a minimum of Rs.15 lakhs. That is certainly an astronomical sum for
most Indian families. So how do you exactly go about documenting such a huge
sum. Usually, this is done by providing a bank statement to the university
indicating the ability of the sponsor (this could be your father, mother, uncle
etc.). If you belong to a well-to-do family or if you have such a relative, it
should not be a problem for you. You only need to get a bank statement and an
affidavit of support from your sponsor. Formats for both can be downloaded from here.
For those who don't have the financial wherewithal or don't have any affluent
relatives might consider approaching 'agents' for this purpose. Though the name
'agent' might sound scary, they are actually professional bankers who indulge in
providing financial statements for a fee. Their modus operandi involves
depositing a certain amount (which is decided by your university fees) in a bank
account opened in your name. They retain the passbook and cheque book thus
rendering any chances of pilfering from your side! They usually charge fees on a
per-lakh basis. A certain agent in Chennai charges Rs.350 per lakh documented.
After preparing the financial statement, the amount is withdrawn and the account
closed. I definitely feel this might be unethical or maybe even illegal (I am
not aware of laws that may apply here) but there are times when you should take
the plunge when there is no way out. But be careful of touts and be sure you
have verified the antecedents of the agent before involving yourself in any
transaction.

Recommendation
letters

These
are letters issued by your professors indicating your competence for pursuing
such and such program at such and such university. The letters are usually
drafted by the professor himself and returns it to the student in a sealed
envelope. However, nowadays most professors ask students to write the letter
themselves and correct it before approving it. But, you should not assume this
to be the norm and embarrass your professor. It is wise to be circumspect in
such matters! Reco letters (as they are informally called) are 100 to 150-word
letters stating in brief the professor's opinion of the student, his
capabilities, and any other information that might be useful to the university
in gauging the student. I have included some general templates for reco letters here.
You may download them and use them for your recos. But be careful not copy it
word-for-word. University officials are very careful in detecting such
malpractices and so make sure you use these templates only for reference.

Transcripts

A
transcript is an official statement of your marks (till the semester for which
marks are available) issued by your university (please note that most U.S.
universities do not accept mark statements issued by the college for applicants
from India and Pakistan. The transcript must necessarily have been issued by the
university only. A notable example is the Ohio State University which explicitly
states in its brochure "Applicants from Pakistani or Indian
universities: Submit mark sheets from your university certified as true copies
of the originals. Mark sheets prepared by the college are not acceptable.").
Usually, there is no strict format for a transcript - most unversities only need
an attested (copy of your) marksheet; the only requirement being that the
transcript should be provided in a sealed envelope.

Résumé

This
is rarely needed but some universities like the University of Florida,
Gainesville insist on a résumé. Hence it is better to prepared on such
grounds. A sample résumé can be downloaded from here.
Résumés find their true use when contacting your department professors for
financial assistantships.

Sending
the application

After
you have finished filling your application, you can pack it in along with all
other application materials (like SoP, recos etc.) in a large thick envelope.
Usually, you may need to send two envelopes - one to the Graduate School and
another to your department - though some universities may need you send in only
one envelope. Prepare address slips (print out addresses from a PC onto slips;
the font face may be chosen as Garamond and a large size may be chosen) to be
pasted on the envelopes. Even if you apply online, you must send envelopes for
documents like your transcripts, reco letters etc. If you have a month's time
before the application deadline, you may send your envelopes by normal
registered post itself. Sending them through courier or Speed Post may sound
attractive but it seves no purpose as normal mail to the U.S. reaches reliably
in fifteen days or so. You can save a lot of money by sending your envelopes
through normal post; don't worry, the Indian postal system isn't really what it
used to be. What I mean here is it is at par with most international services.

Banks
offer educational loans up to Rs.4 lakhs without the need for a security. If you
meet their criteria (this will definitely vary from bank to bank), you are
eligible to apply for an educational loan. If you wish to apply for a loan
amount greater than Rs.4 lakhs you would be required to show 100% security. In
both cases, simple interest for the same has to be paid on a monthly basis. Most
banks offer loans at 1% per month (or 12% per annum) and this interest has to be
paid regularly either by your sponsor. Examples of banks offering loans are SBI,
Canara, Syndicate etc. Before applying for a loan, I would recommend you see the
websites of the banks you would like to apply to. That would give you a fair
idea of the terms and condition of each loan. I would suggest loan applicants to
try applying to different banks simultaneously for the no-security loan as you
would not only get the amount you need (more than the 4 lakhs given in a single
loan) but also would not need to struggle to provide security for the amount. As
far as my knowledge goes, there is no legal hurdle preventing from obtaining
simultaneous loans nor do the banks mention it as a disqualification for
obtaining loan from them.

Obtaining
an education scholarship from a charitable organisation is a bit more difficult
as they subject you to a lot of questions and take a lot of time in processing
your application. Therefore, give yourself a month or two for applying for a
scholarship. There are many organisations which provide loan/scholarships to
needy students. You need to watch out newspapers and other media for
advertisements. At the bottom of the page you can find some links to a few such
organisations. Given below is an address-list of a few organisations in India.

An
F-1 visa to the U.S. is fairly simple to obtain if your credentials are perfect.
You stand a better chance if you have received some form of funding from the
university. As of May, 2003, the U.S. Department of State requires all
first-time F-1 applicants to go through a mandatory interview irrespective of
whether funding has been provided by the university or not. However, don't
panic. A visa interview is usually quite a simple procedure if you approach it
in the way it should be. Getting a visa involves three steps:

Booking
a date for the visa interview

If
you live in Chennai, Kolkata or New Delhi, you can book your visa date online at
http://www.ttsvisas.com/. You should book
your visa date sometime during the first week of May for a date in June and
beyond. Remember that during the third week of May, there would be a mad rush to
book dates. So, be cautioned! Choose a date that would not only be convenient
for you but when you would confident of knowing your final semester grades as
also of receiving your course completion certificate. Ideally, the second or
third week of June would be good for anybody. You should also keep in mind your
reporting date as mentioned in the I-20. The visa interview should not be too
close to the reporting date or you will not have enough time for preparing for
your stay in the U.S. Likewise, it can't be too further (according to the U.S.
Department of State regulations, you may not apply 90 days before your reporting
date) to the reporting date.

Preparing
for the interview

This
involves two aspects - the monetary and the intellectual. As far as the monetary
aspect is concerned, you need to show enough proof of funds for your entire stay
at the U.S. (except the amount received as aid). For this, you may show a bank
statement (as stated above for the application process) and/or a C.A.
certificate. Additionally, you may need to show a property/jewellery certificate
in case you are mortgaging your land/jewellery etc. to fund your higher studies.
Refer to the above
section on applying on how to obtain a bank statement etc. For the intellectual
aspect, you need to prepare for the possible questions that will be asked by the
visa officer. Information for both is provided in this digest.
Also join some egroup which caters to the students leaving for U.S. for the Fall
(or Spring) session. Do a search in http://groups.yahoo.com/
and you should be fine. Such groups have a lot of info. During my time, I was a
member of the fall-2003, fall_2003, chennaifall2003 and fall2003chennai
egroups which helped me a lot to prepare for my visa interview.

Attending
the interview

If
you have prepared well in the above steps, you should find the visa interview a
breeze. However, do not be over confident. Just be yourself and answer the
questions calmly and confidently. Confidence is the key here - you may sneak in
a lie by answering confidently but a truthful answer will be deemed a lie if you
take time to answer it. One thought for those who might find it hard suppressing
the nerves: Remember that going to the U.S. and doing your M.S. in neither the
only thing to do in life nor the end of the world if you don't get to do it.
Just think of it as just another day in your life and the visa officer as just
another stranger. Maybe the fact that he is an American might intimidate you but
think like this: would you feel scared talking to an American tourist? Just
think that he/she is not the deciding authority behind your future. Such
thoughts would definitely boost your self-confidence, morale and pep you up!

Once
you get your visa, the first thing to do is to get your flight ticket. Take a
route that is the shortest, cheapest and the most continuous. A flight to
Frankfurt/London from your city in India and then onto your final destination
would be the best option. This is because it is better not to get into the hands
of our depraved customs officers! British Airways or Lufthansa would be a good
choice but for heaven's sake please do not try flying with Air India. The money
saved thus is definitely not worth the anxiety of a late/cancelled flight.
Besides, these airlines are the most professionally managed in the world and
would provide you a comfortable transit to the U.S. British Airways is more
preferable to its German counterpart because of its alliance with American
Airlines (a domestic airlines company in the U.S.) which make it unnecessary to
buy two tickets in case you final destination is not directly accessible from
London.

The
next best thing to do is to go on a purchasing spree. Purchase goods which you
might find necessary for your survival in the U.S. A detailed information
booklet on what you need to do in the post-visa stage can be found here.
You may also finish all such mundane stuff like getting an international licence
(it's prohibitively costly to get a licence in the U.S.), getting yourself
immunised (as per university requirements) etc. Do read the information in the
zip file carefully.